Calling all low buck builds

[sqrlnts]

Here is the thing. It can always be done cheaper, someone will always scoff at your numbers and say he did it cheaper. The fact of the matter is that unless you own a junkyard full of donor vehicles and your best buddy runs a restoration/paint shop your going to have big expenses. I will admit that it all depends on what you start with and what your final goal is.

The 10K I have spent is just to get it to a driver status with almost ZERO mechanical upgrades. Its daily driven and I have a smile for every mile.

My Phase II plans include
$2K for IFS front susp
$1K in new unnecessary rims and tires

PHase III
turbo 5.3 and OD trans

Eventually I will have $20K in it and it will still look like a turd!!!

[Zach B]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

I THINK the point is they'll always cost you more than you think they will. They'll always take more time than you think they will.

Now, if you're a guy that does one project after another, year after year and you have welders, plasma cutters, tubing flaring and bending tools, a boat load of hand tools, a big ass compressor & air tools, etc, etc. It's not truly accurate to add up the cost of buying a derelict and a $500 or $1000 donor car and call that a low buck build. You can if you want but those thousands of dollars of tools AND your time are worth something.

Another guy, a newbie, or a guy like me that does not intend to build truck after truck, car after car, cannot really duplicate what you did.

Yes the tools and time are worthwhile something but I want you to think about this. Who ever said that you invested any real money into the tools. You will run into people who inherited most of the tools they have and those tools are over 50 years old. I know people with $5000 worth of tools and did not spend a dime on them. They found some on the road, inherited many of them, and some were gifts. So even if you do have it all it can still be a low buck build. I'm still in high school and my auto tech teacher found a set of snapon clutch head screw drivers. He gave them to me because I was the only one who knew what it was. You run into stuff like that all the time so even with all the tools you may not have invested more than $200 in a compressor. That's another thing to think about. My dad works on semi trucks. His work threw away a compressor because it broke a tooth on a fly wheel. He just pulled it out of the dumpster an brought it home to fix. It's a matter of how you aquire everything you have. You find generous people and things like that and you never know what you might get and how cheap you may get it.
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[vegadesign]

is there such thing as a low buck? lol

[Zach B]

Yes but really cheap is a matter of perspective. For bill gates rebuilding one of these trucks is not much more than a penny to us. That's assuming he has started with nothing but a frame and a title. For most of us it can be expensive but we carry on with it because we like what we do. I have seen trucks that would cost only a paint job and it would be fully restored with what was probably the original fenders on it from the day it rolled off the line. Cheap is much like truth. You can look at one thing in one way and its the truth but you can look at it another way and its a different truth.
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[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Zach B

.... I know people with $5000 worth of tools and did not spend a dime on them.

Well then you don't know me!

Do I have a few handtools that were my father's? Yes, of course. He was a mason so I have his trowels & his concrete mixer (that I bought for him incidentally) - none of which help with auto mechanics. I paid for every tool in my box unless it was a gift. And I can tell you for certain my MIG welder, 60 gallon air compressor, torque wrenches, etc ALL came from my own budget. I think it is a fantasy that "lots of people" inherit any substantial number of tools.

Originally Posted by Zach B

.... I'm still in high school and....

Not to be patronizing, but perhaps this is why you THINK many people didn't pay for their own tools. Hell, if you're in high school, maybe many of the people you know DID inherit theirs!

I'm 58 years old, my Dad passed away 23 years ago and I still have whatever he left but they're a tiny minority of the tools I rely on. Why? My dad came up in the Depression and didn't have a lot, didn't spend a lot on ANYthing. So he didn't leave a lot of tools.

Originally Posted by Zach B

.... my auto tech teacher found a set of snapon clutch head screw drivers. He gave them to me because I was the only one who knew what it was.
You run into stuff like that all the time so even with all the tools you may not have invested more than $200 in a compressor. That's another thing to think about. My dad works on semi trucks. His work threw away a compressor because it broke a tooth on a fly wheel. He just pulled it out of the dumpster an brought it home to fix. It's a matter of how you aquire everything you have. You find generous people and things like that and you never know what you might get and how cheap you may get it...

Man, you live in a fantasy world....or at least a world where things "come" to you MUCH more easily than they've ever come to me. Dare I say many of us on this website? Someone GAVE you Snap-On tools? I don't own a SINGLE Snap-On tool because I've never been able to afford them. I raised two children and got them through college, one through law school. I've owned homes, cars, paid for educations. I hope things always "come to you" so easily...but I sincerely doubt it.

I would NOT have advised others about how to build projects or how to acquire tools when I was in high school.

[Zach B]

I never said a lot of people don't. All I meant was it is possible to not invest a lot of money into them if your lucky. Most people won't have that kind of luck I understand that I have been very fortunate. I'm sure when I'm older I will have many tools I personally purchased I was just pointing out that not everyone does spend a lot of money on tools and still gets by with doing things in a less expensive way. I also understand tools get used they become less functional over the years and eventualy need replaced.
I did not mean to make it sound like I though everything was just handed to you or cheap I was just using an example of the exceptions.
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[Dan in Pasadena]

Got it. Appreciate the additional explanation. I re-read what I wrote above and didn't mean to come off as such a chapass, lol.

BTW, lots & LOTS of good mechanical and restoration work has been done with minimal tools, strategically rented tools, and the help of buddies.
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[Zach B]

Yeah we both came off wrong on the way we sounded. Lol.
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[Greaser50]

The last 54/55 I built I had $500 in it. 5 window cab cost me $1 after I scrapped the engine and chassis. Sold it for $5000

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by sqrlnts

Here is the thing. It can always be done cheaper, someone will always scoff at your numbers and say he did it cheaper. The fact of the matter is that unless you own a junkyard full of donor vehicles and your best buddy runs a restoration/paint shop your going to have big expenses. I will admit that it all depends on what you start with and what your final goal is.

The 10K I have spent is just to get it to a driver status with almost ZERO mechanical upgrades. Its daily driven and I have a smile for every mile.

My Phase II plans include
$2K for IFS front susp
$1K in new unnecessary rims and tires

PHase III
turbo 5.3 and OD trans

Eventually I will have $20K in it and it will still look like a turd!!!

Mine is a turd.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

I THINK the point is they'll always cost you more than you think they will. They'll always take more time than you think they will.

Now, if you're a guy that does one project after another, year after year and you have welders, plasma cutters, tubing flaring and bending tools, a boat load of hand tools, a big ass compressor & air tools, etc, etc. It's not truly accurate to add up the cost of buying a derelict and a $500 or $1000 donor car and call that a low buck build. You can if you want but those thousands of dollars of tools AND your time are worth something.

Another guy, a newbie, or a guy like me that does not intend to build truck after truck, car after car, cannot really duplicate what you did.

I think you are totally wrong there. The big shop full of tools make things easier and allow a guy or gal to do more advanced things but they don't replace sweat and time.

In 1973 I was building a T bucket to drive to the street rod nationals in Tulsa and figured out that there was no possible way it would be done. About the same time my baby sitter's neighbor was moving out of state and had this old beat up 48 chevrolet pickup that ran and drove and had a Chevy II 194 six in it and wanted 75.00 for it. My father in law called me and said I needed to go look at it. I bought it on the spot, transferred the title the next day an licensed it and the next day drove it to work on ragged 16 inch tires and with a trans that jumped out of second gear. I drove it back and forth and started finding parts for it. One guy had nice fenders, nice running boards a tailgate and a chrome plated seat frame and sold me the whole pile for 25.00 and gave me a beer out of his keg that he had in an old fridge in his carport to boot.
That started me in on the truck that I washed most of the brushed on green paint off at the car wash one night and then started wet sanding with 180 every morning until I got it all sanded and did what body work that needed to be done. No torch and no welder. Every morning for three months I worked on that truck before going to work on swing shift and drove the truck to work.
I went to the wrecking yard in Crawford TX (I lived in McGregor at the time) and bought front hubs and backing plates off a 54 Chev wagon for less than 20.00 and put them on and redid the front brakes. A coworker sold me four 68 Camaro Z28 15 inch Rally wheels with rings and three caps for 25.00 and I mounted used tires on those. Another coworker sold me the rear axle out of his wrecked 61 Chev sedan for 10.00 bucks and I used the torch at work to cut all of the brackets off and used the welder to weld spring pads on. Someone else sold me an open drive three speed and driveline for it for a few bucks.

My buddy down the street painted it for me for 10 bucks and I supplied the 72 Monte Carlo Gold lacquer and had to buy more paint and thinner as he ran out of paint. A club member named Bobby Russel did the seat in tan Naugahyde for 35.00

I headed out to Tulsa from McGregor in a truck I had about 400 bucks in in 1973 dollars and a pot load of scrounging and many hours of my own labor in. The most advanced tool I used was my father in law's orbital sander. I did use his lawnmower frame mounted put put air compressor and a ten dollar spray gun to spray a lot of the primer after the custom mixed spray cans started getting too expensive. I was working for 3.50 an hour then and still trying to build a hot rod.
Anything I needed welded I either carried to the welding shop, up to Paul Charles house for him to weld or to work and had a coworker weld it on our break.

The truck was actually a lot nicer then than it has been since as far as body and paint go. It was 40 years ahead of it's time in that I didn't know I needed to clear the paint and ended up with a shiny satin finish that is the hot lick now. A guy can do it with a minimum of tools it just takes more effort.

[mrsmothers]

I go to hf to get cheap tools I figure there built like crap but they work for me. At any rate I save a ton of money on my truck because I have the knowledge to do stuff my self. If you follow most low buck builds you will notice they don't have awesome shops just good minds.


current total on the 1950 328.26 to get it to be a daily driver.
keep in mind I started with a good truck.

on my 1971 I spent a little over 7 k

[Zach B]

Another place you can get cheap tools and they are good tools is fle markets. They often have the old craftsman wrenches from sears for a $1. Funny thing they are still a warranty hand tool to. The best tools are snap on, older craftsman, husky, proto, and Stanley is not to bad. I'm forgetting some but there is also the option of making your own tools out of broken tools.
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[fabguy]

I have a shop, not a restoration shop just a typical very small general fabrication shop. some of the large machines I DO have will be gone very soon. It is just an extension of my garage now. I am opening it up to a couple buddies of mine that want to restore their trucks and for my restoration. I do just enough business to pay my expenses and buy small parts. The truck I am currently working on is my 1st full restoration.
Having a shop doesn't give me an advantage to anyone, only allows me more space as well as having the tooling to do it myself and save money to put towards parts I won't make. Yes having the space is very nice especially doing a frame graft. For what I have into my truck I don't consider it a budget build even though I have 1/2 of what one of my friends spent on his and that includes every dime I have put into it since I bought it 18 yrs ago.

I guess this low budget build thing is just as others have said, it is relative to what you are trying to accomplish in the end. As for buying and selling parts, parting out a vehicle, or selling your old parts to me as long I cover my expense then the rest is free money to put towards my vehicles and I don't count as expense.
My wife told me a long while back that she could care less if I restored a vehicle a month so long as I didn't touch our household finances. So I started buying and flipping cars and parts again.

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[sqrlnts]

Originally Posted by fabguy

Having a shop doesn't give me an advantage to anyone, only allows me more space as well as having the tooling to do it myself and save money to put towards parts I won't make.

I am confused? I think the space, tooling, and money savings are all advantages. Far and away the biggest advantage you have is your wife's opinion of our crazy hobby.

[fabguy]

Originally Posted by sqrlnts

I am confused? I think the space, tooling, and money savings are all advantages. Far and away the biggest advantage you have is your wife's opinion of our crazy hobby.

I was referring to a prior post by another member about having a shop to do the work in.

I should have been more specific. Sometimes I guess it is a disadvantage, BUT only because the expense of paying out rent, insurance, electricity, water, and phone. All my tooling has been bought and paid for years ago. That is why I have held onto a couple great customers I have had for years. The advantage is definitely the tooling and ease with which to do the projects because it saves alot of time. Having a forklift saves alot of back bone too. Yes a forklift makes it VERY easy to pull a body and replace it all by yourself.
As for my wifey of 24 yrs, she was raised by a man who had owned a few wrecking yards in his day so working on cars and trucks has been in her blood since she was little. He is also who we originally bought these vehicles from. She knows I am at the shop or at work and not sitting in a bar somewhere hanging out with my buddies since most of my close friends don't drink either.
I am sorry if I misled in my last statement. Sometimes it is a pain in the ()() to pay rent instead of buying the new chrome colunm, or wheels or (you get the picture) but priorities are first

lol

[54 jimmy]

I rent my garage so I know where you are coming from. I built my truck with very little tools. a 4in angle grinder, cordless drill, corded drill, 110 mig welder and a big tool bok of tools bought by me. but doing 90% of the work myself and fabbing parts insead of buying made my build low buck for me anyways. it just depends on your skills and confidence in them too.

[sqrlnts]

Originally Posted by fabguy

I was referring to a prior post by another member about having a shop to do the work in.

I should have been more specific. Sometimes I guess it is a disadvantage, BUT only because the expense of paying out rent, insurance, electricity, water, and phone. All my tooling has been bought and paid for years ago. That is why I have held onto a couple great customers I have had for years. The advantage is definitely the tooling and ease with which to do the projects because it saves alot of time. Having a forklift saves alot of back bone too. Yes a forklift makes it VERY easy to pull a body and replace it all by yourself.
As for my wifey of 24 yrs, she was raised by a man who had owned a few wrecking yards in his day so working on cars and trucks has been in her blood since she was little. He is also who we originally bought these vehicles from. She knows I am at the shop or at work and not sitting in a bar somewhere hanging out with my buddies since most of my close friends don't drink either.
I am sorry if I misled in my last statement. Sometimes it is a pain in the ()() to pay rent instead of buying the new chrome colunm, or wheels or (you get the picture) but priorities are first

lol

I hear what your saying man especially about the not drinkng thing. I recently quit because some say I was "born without brakes"!

[mknittle]

I was "born without brakes"![/QUOTE]

I quit several years ago but I still have problems with the "brakes"
I am getting better though.

[yossarian19]

So far, my fiance and I are in to the '57 for about 6600 including purchase from her brother. It's our first project, either of us, so a few bucks are getting spent on parts that we don't wind up using but pretty minimal. Thats with a LS swap, 4l60E, hydoboost / front disc conversion, under bed tank, power steering, etc. I'm hoping we can drive it for under 8500. Still need driveshafts / exhaust / engine fuse box / body harness to drive it. Hoping to make it look OK under 10k. Might or might not paint it, just need the seat, seatbelts & carpeting.
I thought finding a good deal on the engine / trans was going to be relevant in the overall cost. Not true. The small things add up tremendously.
Going LS was a big step up in project cost but I think it will be worth it in MPG, cool points, less maintenance etc.
On the other hand, I could have put a SBC in there and been driving it by now. So... there's that.

[Boss hawg]

I got my truck basically for free... I did a little work on a fence for the guy and he gave me the truck. By the time I'm done which is going to take a few years because money doesn't grow on trees round here ill have "I hope" under 20k in it. I should also include that two of my best friends are a welder and a body guy... That's going to save me quit a bit in my project.
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